


In the Eyes of Destruction

by 14Hiatus



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir-centric, Adrien has trust issues, Adrien is mean and distant with others, Adrien is very self loathing, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Autistic!Adrien, Bisexual!Adrien, Distant!Adrien au, F/M, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Multi, Reverse Lovesquare AU, Slow Burn, Trans!Adrien, adrien is on the autistic spectrum, adrien is very self destructive, adrien's kinder and more nicer as chat noir than he is as a civilian, biromantic!Adrien, discussions on anxiety and depression, don't worry there are no suicide attempts but adrien does get suicidal once, has a reveal, he gets a redemption arc, he needs a hug tbh, he will have a therapist, may have adrien be suicidal once but only once, mentions of abuse, plagg is adrien's only support system for a while, poor baby ruins lots of things for himself, slight depictions of physical and emotional abuse, some mild sexual humour and reference to sexual themes, strong language (cussing)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-21 21:21:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30028029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/14Hiatus/pseuds/14Hiatus
Summary: Adrien Agreste isn't the most friendliest person on the planet, afterall he wasn't raised by the most agreeable person either. After an incident related to gum at his brand new school, people start spreading rumours about him. People expect Adrien to be an asshole, so Adrien's going to be one. Nobody bothers to get to know the real him, so what's the point in trying to show that? You gotta give the people what they want, no?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Plagg, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	In the Eyes of Destruction

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, this is my first miraculous ladybug multi-chaptered fanfiction that I decided to post on ao3. It's been a year since I last picked up writing, and I wanted to make an epic comeback. Posting chapters will take time, because I am rather busy and have my own personal life. But, a little explanation as to what this au is all about:
> 
> I personally headcanon Adrien as autistic and as a trans male (FtM). I also made him biromantic bisexual in this. Anyways, basically I decided to make an au where I could explore Adrien's more darker side. Where he's more cold, meaner, and distant from others. I call this the distant!Adrien au. As a civilian he is much more rude with others and calloused. But as Chat Noir he's more open and friendly, because people give him a chance as a hero rather than as a civilian. People think Adrien's a stuck up, snobby rich kid and spread rumours about him at his new school. He gains a crush on Marinette one of the only people at school who bothers to try and be polite with him. This version of Adrien is much more confident and flirty, and you'll see that later on in the story. 
> 
> Unfortunately, being gossiped about and basically being bullied doesn't do his mental health any favours. Only having Plagg as his anchor, sends him into some pretty angsty parts of the story. You'll find that Adrien also thinks he's a monster because he has the power of destruction and he isn't that nice of a person as a civilian. Fair warning, that there will be references/mild descriptions of child abuse, Adrien being suicidal once, etc. 
> 
> Also thank you @Miss_Maladroit for editing the fic and helping me write a tiny bit of it out. I really appreciate it! <3

It’s not easy, Adrien thought, when he escaped the clutches of home school and tried to attain a life at public school. He’s pretty sure that this was the biggest form of rebellion he ever achieved against his father. His father’s word was always absolute, except for today. Today, Adrien was free, freer than a bird. He was in front of College Francoise Dupont, staring at it directly like it was his only route to freedom. His entire sanity depended on this very moment, whether he could successfully “infiltrate” the school and attend a normal class like any other young teenager. Hastily, the fourteen-year-old ran to the entrance, he could hear the calls of Nathalie, but she was merely a buzz in the roar of an ocean’s waves. Something clicked inside of Adrien, it was all apparent what the sound of ocean waves truly was. It was the sound of a man, on the ground struggling to get up. He was weak, frail, and significant. He was much more significant than Adrien’s freedom, he was more important than escaping his golden cage. Almost instinctively, he came to the man’s aid and helped him up, knowing full well that Nathalie would capture him like a wounded animal. What a daring escape a person had to go through, only to be held captive once again? How ironic, Adrien thought. Guess he’d have to wait for freedom another day.

It was days like these when he dreaded returning home to see his father. He didn’t want to face him. Somehow, there was a drop of anxiety that began to mix into his feelings of dread. Yes, he personally requested Nathalie to not let his father know of his failed attempt at attending public school. But, there was something brewing in his gut telling him that she would snitch. So, when he’s back at the dining table, being homeschooled as always, and he sees his father make an appearance. A hint of resentment and bitterness bubbled inside of him, and the slight betrayal from Nathalie’s side made him annoyed more than anything. Adrien tried to reason with his father, but alas the man would not budge. In the end, it was obviously not going to work, so the boy ran up to his room. He jumped onto his bed only to hear the sounds of guns shooting and the screaming of dozens. What’s going on? 

Adrien gets up and goes to his television to check the news, but before anything, he notices a small hexagonal box. One with intricate and symmetrical red designs on the lid. His eyes widened a bit. This was new, very foreign, and Adrien was confused. Was this a gift from Nathalie… or possibly his own father? Oh, forget about it, father would never get him something like this, he didn’t care that much. Curiously and rather impulsively, he opened the box and was met with a scintillating lime green light. Dammit, he absolutely despised bright lights. Nathalie most certainly wouldn’t have given him something like this. He was autistic after all, and so he couldn’t handle these bright lights. The boy then noticed a black figure fly out of the box and zoom around the place. Adrien was now extremely surprised and taken aback, what the actual literal fuck was going on?

“Hey, come back here!” Adrien tried chasing the flying black figure, and it felt like doing parkour. He was running up the stairs in his room, climbing up the walls, going down his silver fire pole, and throwing himself on the floor when he finally caught the small thing in his hands. What an energetic little guy? Adrien tilted his head when he finally got a better look at the creature. 

“Who are you? What are you?” He spoke up, curiosity and adrenaline coursing through him after that game of cat and mouse.

The strange being blankly stared at the blond and heaved a heavy sigh, “The name’s Plagg, kwami of destruction. You’re the new holder of the miraculous of destruction, got it?” The boy in question simply blinked at the apparent magical being. Piercing green eyes bore into his own as the animal-like creature spoke up again, “What are you staring at me for? Do you have any camembert on ya?”. Of course, Adrien was a chosen one. He was giddy, something about this brought him pure joy. The idea that he was the usurper of destruction made him somewhat twistedly gleeful. But then Plagg began explaining things, and suddenly Adrien wanted to daydream and go into la la land. Imagine, being a superhero with a good sense of fashion that stopped villains left and right with kickass powers? That was the life!

Unfortunately, Adrien realized that being distracted was not a good idea if he was going to be a hero of some sorts or whatever he was going to be. Plagg’s words finally got into Adrien’s head after a bit of a thorough explanation and the boy then nodded. He grabbed the remote and finally was able to turn the TV on. He paid attention to what was on the TV, the creature’s name was “Stoneheart”. The small kwami then groaned; something about being hungry.

“Okay, so how am I going to become a hero or whatever? If I can’t even do whatever I want in my own home?” 

“Sooner or later, you’re going to have to, regardless of what your civilian life is like,” Plagg says rather apathetically and Adrien sighs. Great, this little cat creature was going to be so much fun to deal with.

“Alright, fine, you have a point. But what about my partner in fighting crime? What do I do about them? Don’t they have to uh… purify that butterfly-thing?” Adrien implored and Plagg just nodded and flew around. This might be exciting, or it may end up with the boy quartered up and thrown in a river. He wasn’t quite sure if he should trust his future Ladybug, even if he hadn’t even met them yet. Whether they were a man or a woman, or if they were nonbinary. Ladybug wasn’t a person he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about meeting. Maybe, it’s because Adrien never really talked to others and was pretty sure that the only person he was friends with was a major asshole. With ambivalent feelings towards the idea of meeting his future partner, the boy got up and decided to transform. He might as well get the show on the road, there was no point in letting Paris get destroyed by some rock monster.

Adrien found himself experiencing an adrenaline rush, he was parkouring on the rooftops of Paris, clad in a tight, leather cat-suit. Something about it was hilarious to him, and also thrilling. He was moving as fast as he could, practicing transporting himself with his baton. The cold wind blew past his ruffled and messy hair and the pale blue sky suddenly seemed a lot brighter and more azure than it ever was. It was like there was colour in his world again, it was like he was finally out of his cage for once. No chains, no rules, no schedules, nothing like that! Just him and the outside world, and boy did it feel good. Time seemed to have sped up more than his monotonous and dull life. He didn’t want to think about his boring life, about that prison with no escape. Adrien was feeling good about everything for once in his life, so good that he forgot that he was supposed to stop a supervillain who was hellbent on terrorizing Paris. As that thought crossed his mind, he felt a body crash right into him and the boy was suddenly falling off of a building. It was the feeling of spandex on what little skin he was showing, the shrill high pitched scream from an effeminate voice and the blur of red and black that made hurtling to the ground from thirty feet that made him feel delirious. 

Adrien had to act fast, he couldn’t lose the life he was just starting to live, all because some clumsy bitch fell on to him. He clutched onto the body that initially crashed onto him, and he held it very close to him. His baton extended and then it got caught between the gap of two buildings, the string of a yo-yo looped around the baton, and the two were caught hanging midair. There was a lot of string wrapped around his body, and he could feel himself being pressed up against a… pretty person? This… was his Ladybug, wasn’t it? Not a very good first impression, but he could manage. They had to get business done and over with, or they could delay the inevitable and have some fun? Adrien was the harbinger of disaster and all things calamity! Why wouldn’t he want to cause a little chaos and enjoy what little life he had left? Yes, it was a little calloused and selfish to want to explore Paris with his Ladybug, instead of saving the rest of the population of Paris. But couldn’t it wait for just a little bit…? No? It couldn’t? Fine then. The boy untangled himself from the string and jumped down and landed on the ground safely. 

Adrien wasn’t sure about what to do next, so he called out for his Ladybug, “Hey? Uh… red bug? You gonna get down from there?” The short person after two minutes of working through their yo-yo string managed to get down. The red and black hero finally got on to the ground and was naturally embarrassed and humiliated.

“I-I’m sooo sorry! I’m… madly clumsy. I’m not used to this,” The person spoke and Adrien stared blankly at them. He sighed and scratched the back of his neck.

“No… it’s good… you’re good. I just didn’t expect that” He spoke and then as if to fill in the gaps out of courtesy, “Hey uh… I have a feeling we’re going to be working with each other for a while. What pronouns do you use?”

There was a look of surprise on his Ladybug’s face, and they stammered, “O-Oh I use she/her pronouns… a-and I’m a girl!” 

“Cool, I use he/him pronouns and I’m a boy,” He spoke up and then began walking down the street with the girl. There was something gnawing at the back of his mind, he had yet to choose a superhero name. Technically that wasn’t the main issue at hand, but of course, he would be more concerned about this brand new life of his. The main issue was that there were screaming citizens and people getting attacked by some giant rock monster. 

Adrien spoke up, “Before we go and defeat the Akuma or whatever. I guess I have to introduce myself. The name’s uhh… hmm Chat Noir? Yeah, that has a nice ring to it. You must be Ladybug, right?” He assumed that that’s what Ladybug’s name was going to be. Maybe it was rather rude and insensitive, but he knew that now wasn’t the time to fraternize. They still had a city to protect. Adrien wasn’t being good for any altruistic purposes, it was more because he had to be and because that was the price he had to pay for every inch of his new freedom. He looked at Ladybug square in the eye, waiting for her to respond, his intense gaze staring into her marble blue eyes. Damn, she was kinda pretty, and rather adorable too. Not that it mattered too much, because Adrien was going to have to go back home soon after this butterfly fiasco was done with. 

“O-Oh, I guess… I can go by Ladybug, uh yeah! Anyways, aren’t we supposed to maybe make a plan to defeat the Akuma?” Ladybug spoke nervously, and Chat Noir sighed. He wasn’t too keen on plans, but if Ladybug thought it was a good idea then sure let’s go with it.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. What should the plan be?” He had to start somewhere, he had to be confident in his partner’s abilities and skills. Adrien was used to doing things on his own. But maybe Ladybug was someone he could actually depend on for once? She was after all the miraculous holder of creation, and something about her made Chat Noir feel lucky. Ladybug’s aquamarine eyes shimmered brightly under the sunlight as she began to explain her plan. 

About ten minutes after, Adrien was pretty sure he had the plan locked in his memory. Swiftly, he pressed at his baton and began jumping around Paris looking for a huge creature with gravelly arms of rock and boulder. Stoneheart, the Akuma’s name, was in the Parc des Princes, a football stadium. The blond stood atop of the football stadium. He surveyed the interior and noticed that Stoneheart was cornering a black kid, with long and wavy ombre hair. They had their phone out, trying to record the existence of the Akuma. Which to Chat wasn’t a very good or safe idea. He wanted to get the kid out of there, but he knew he had to wait for Ladybug’s sign of approval. Ladybug winked and Adrien scrambled down into the pit of the stadium as quickly as he could. He used his baton to prevent a football net from being thrown into the innocent civilian. The new but familiar whir of a yo-yo was heard, and Adrien grabbed the citizen and tried to help them up. 

Adrien looked over to see Ladybug who was pulling with her yo-yo string at the hand of the Akuma with all her might. He carried the civilian over to the exit, hoping they’d have enough self-preservation to escape. It was an odd sight, but he realized that Stoneheart’s right fist was consistently clenched while the other hand was free. Ladybug was a genius. He bolted up to her, trying to help the spotted hero pull at the string. It was fruitless because Stoneheart could tell what was going on and they lifted their hand up and threw the two heroes into the wall. Adrien groaned, feeling the air in his lungs get knocked out of him. Fuck that hurt. Slowly, he got up and looked over at Ladybug who looked unsure of herself.

“Ladybug, everything’s going to be fine. You can do it! Just.. why don’t you use your special power? I don’t know what would happen if I straight up used the power of destruction on the Akuma. Maybe we can use you instead?”  
The bluenette looked like she was filled to the brim with some sort of confidence and she called out, “Lucky Charm!” A spotted red and black suit appeared in Ladybug’s hands. Adrien was deeply confused but didn’t have time to think about it too much. He looked confidently at his brand new partner, certain that she had a good plan on her side.

“Okay, Chat Noir. I’m going to have to ask you to let yourself occupy Stoneheart’s free hand,” Ladybug called out, determined and passionate. Adrien knew that this had something to do with Ladybug wanting to free the akuma’s clenched fist. He nodded and rushed into the line of sight of the rocky monster, his heart pounding as he heard a loud grumble and roar usher out of the akuma’s mouth. There was a twinge of fear that laced the feeling of excitement and hope. 

“Hey! Boulders for brains! I bet you can’t catch me!” He teased and taunted the akuma, trying to allow himself to be chased by the villain. The boy scampered around the stadium until he felt large, stony fingers wrap around his entire body. Well, this wasn’t the most pleasant experience on the planet. Chat Noir swore he could feel and hear a bone somewhere in his crack, this akuma was strong.

“Can you lighten up on the grip, Rocky? My ribs are starting to hurt just a little!” Adrien jested and Ladybug facepalmed. She tossed the suit onto the ground, trying to turn a nearby hose on. Painstakingly, the hero tried to fit the opening of the hose into the suit. Luckily, the next part was going to be all fun and games. Ladybug filled the suit up with water until it looked like it would explode. Carefully but hastily, she tied the endings up with her yo-yo string and headed straight for Stoneheart. Adrien just stared and watched her, thinking about how this would all go down. Stoneheart did not look too pleased when they saw the scarlet hero and tried smashing their clenched fist into the ground to send shock waves. 

Gracefully, Ladybug jumped as high as she could and let the suit spray all the water onto Stoneheart. The Akuma was startled and tried to stop the onslaught of water from getting all over them, they unclenched their fist and a piece of paper fell. Cheekily, Ladybug let go of the suit and went down to grab the item containing the Akuma. She grabbed it and ripped at it, watching the corrupted butterfly flutter away into the sky.

“Hey, Ladybug, don’t you have to purify the Akuma?” Adrien called out, not wanting his partner to forget such a crucial detail. Ladybug gasped and used her yo-yo to swing at the little invertebrate, watching as it purified. The blond used his baton to catch himself from falling and rolled onto the ground. He watched as Ladybug went up to the akumatized victim… someone named Ivan.

“Miraculous Ladybug!” The bug-themed hero called out, and then the catastrophes that were caused were repaired and dealt with. Adrien walked up cautiously to Ivan and Ladybug, he wasn’t really used to meeting new people. He looked awkwardly at Ivan and kept his arms crossed. It took him a while, but he realized that Ladybug’s conversation with Ivan was dipping into the five minutes nearly over. He gently nudged his partner into the arm as they heard a little beep. 

“Oh, I think I have to go! Please stay safe! Don’t let those people get to you,” She chimed and looked over at Chat Noir. The two had their eyes meet for a stark few seconds.

Just as Ladybug was about to leave, Adrien stopped and pulled her to the side, “You did amazing, Ladybug. I think you were scared for nothing. You did fine. I’m honestly… kind of glad I have someone like you as my partner,” He genuinely complimented her, it was something he had to say. Yes, he originally had doubts about her, but Ladybug proved to be great at her job. The girl then let out a small gasp and her face grew bright scarlet. Chat Noir tilted his head, he had never seen that sort of reaction from anyone around him. Maybe Ladybug wasn’t used to being complimented? 

She ended up stammering out, “I-I… y-you... Um, it’s good to h-have y-you as my partner too! I mean, like, obviously! W-Why wouldn’t it b-be?! I just, uh haha! I’m going to g-go, bye,” The hero began twirling at her pigtails and giggled nervously.  
“See you, m’lady,” Adrien quipped and grinned widely. He heard a small squeak escape the shorter one’s lips and his smirk grew wider. This was fun! He watched Ladybug give a little wave goodbye and smiled as she threw her yo-yo into the sky. The whir of her yo-yo was the last sound of Ladybug, and Adrien had to go over to the Akuma victim. God… this was going to be very difficult. Adrien awkwardly spoke to the akumatized victim and helped them get back home. It wasn’t Adrien’s favourite part of his newfound freedom, but it was worth it. All of it was better than being cooped up in his father’s schedules and staying at home.

Chat Noir jetted on the rooftops, trying to get to College Francoise Dupont. He hopped down in a nearby alleyway and transformed, making sure he had some camembert on him that he got from slipping into the kitchen while no one was watching. Adrien was sneaking out this time, and he had his school bag on him. If his father wouldn’t give him permission to go to school, he’d just do it himself. Fuck whatever father said, he was going to live a normal teenage life and enjoy it. The boy walked to the entrance of the school, keeping Plagg under his hoodie. It was a nice, early morning. There was a buzz about the brand new superhero duo, even though nobody was aware of what the superheroes’ names were. For now, they were mysterious and nameless “vigilantes”, quoted in this brand new blog known as the “Ladyblog”. Something in Adrien’s stomach churned with excitement, a new day, year, and life. He was going to make friends, his status as a superhero would make him extra happy, and everything would turn out great. 

But when he entered the school, he was surprised to find that Chloe was busy harassing the akumatized victim from yesterday. Cold and bitter venom dripped from his words as he spoke, “Chloe, what are you doing?” 

The ostentatious blonde stared at Adrien, swishing her golden ponytail around as bubble gum popped from her mouth, “Adrikins, what?” Her mouth agape and shock clearly bloomed on her makeup chalked face. Fucking fake, what a fucking nuisance Adrien thought. He wasn’t usually the type to judge others, but at times like this, he wanted to strangle people who got on his nerves. He stared her straight in the eyes, a cold gaze fixed from his brilliant emerald eyes. Something about Chloe either made him feel a sort of resentment and annoyance or gave him a warm, bubbling sensation in the depths of his heart. Chloe had that kind of effect on people. She was either obnoxious or charmingly loveable in her own… bitchy way. At times like these, he just wanted Chloe to be more considerate and mindful of how her actions impacted others. The akuma victim from yesterday could end up becoming akumatized again, and he wasn’t sure if he wanted that to happen again or not.  
He gripped Chloe’s shoulder and spoke up, “You should leave him alone, if you’re so scared that he’ll go evil again. Right?” there was more fire licking from the breadth of his lips. The boy stared at Chloe, and you could see how her face went pallid and she became agreeable. Apparently everyone else around Adrien wasn’t all too familiar with. A sudden stutter and a gasp from Chloe left her running for the hills with a geeky looking redhead following her path. Adrien licked his lips and the people around him began to smile brightly. Warmth travelled up him as he realized that he was gaining positive attention. 

“Oh uh, hey everyone!” He tried to sound a little shyer, as not to possibly scare anyone away. Several students began clamouring after him and he ended up signing one too many autographs. Fake attention, all of the attention and praise he was getting was fake, he came to understand. Something about that brought a great bitterness bubbling from within. Slowly, he backed away from the ever looming crowd and entered a classroom. Adrien looked around, a brand new beginning for him was just what he needed.

But, unfortunately, not even his iron grip on Chloe was enough to stop the girl from causing more calamity. He could see Chloe and geek-kid huddled over a desk, fits of giggles erupting from the blonde girl. Adrien inhaled sharply and headed up over to her, and he noticed a wad of chewed gum on a chair. Gross. At this point, Adrien was wondering if going to public school was all it was chalked up to be. However, the boy was stubborn and decided that a bit of gum wasn’t going to repel him from gaining a fresh start.

“Chloe, what’s going on?” Adrien queried, his voice sounding rather deep and icy.

“Oh Adrikins, not this again! Let me do my own thing! I’m just teaching a baker’s girl in my class a lesson in not messing with me,” Chloe spat out, what a bother. This girl needed some self-restraint, even if Adrien secretly had a soft spot for her. She most certainly had her fair-share of less… desirable flaws.

“You know, Chloe, there are other ways to let a person know you’re upset with them,” He tried to reason with the girl, and squatted down. Adrien didn’t see any tissues anywhere and realized he would have to go to the washroom to get the gum off. Unfortunately, things don’t ever seem to go the way Adrien ever wants. If anyone ever let him explain himself, he would’ve been perfectly honest and elaborate. But, apparently his classmates woke up and decided to be unreasonable asshats. 

The sound of a vexed voice erupted in the class and Adrien turned his head to the direction of the noise, “Hey! What are you doing at my desk?!” A student with azure pigtails, aquamarine blue eyes, and a splash of freckles on the bridge of their nose walked up to Adrien. Boy, this was going to be rough.

Adrien was about to explain, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he got interrupted by Pigtails, “You know what?! Who cares! I bet Chloe put you up to this! Just get away from my desk!” They looked at him with pure hurt and frustration, and if looks could kill, Adrien would be dead. The boy just stood up and scoffed, of course the minute he tried to do one nice thing it got him nowhere. So much for a great first impression. Everyone was just staring at him, and it felt like there was a gaping hole where his heart should’ve been. Adrien sighed and went to his desk, not bothering to say a single thing. 

His deskmate, a student with a red hat and headphones wrung around their neck, spoke up to him, “So, you’re friends with Chloe, huh?”

Adrien looked at the person and then scowled, “Yeah, something like that,”

“Woah, dude, I just asked you a simple question. No need to be so rude…” And something in Adrien just clicked. Him? Being rude? Psh, as if. Chloe was the one who needed an attitude adjustment, and Adrien was just trying to help the pigtails kid. How was he being rude? He didn’t understand. The boy always spoke rather reservedly and cold with others, it was just something he picked up from his family members. 

The kid apparently then muttered something, that maybe Adrien wasn’t supposed to hear,but he heard anyway, “Typical rich kids… always so snobby and rude,”

Adrien then decided to talk again, “Look, what do you want?” 

“I just wanted to talk and get to know you, that’s all,”

“Fine, I’m Adrien, my pronouns are he/him and I’m male, what about you?” Adrien’s voice was still a bit gruff and he still seemed rather reserved and distant. Of course a bit of an annoyed groan was laced in his sentence. Great, just great. 

“I’m Nino, and I guess I’m the same as you? I use the same pronouns and I’m a guy,” Nino said plain and simple, what a direct guy.

“Cool,” Adrien grumbled coldly and crossed his arms. Nino seemed like someone who was going to judge him for being rich and for being buddy-buddy with Chloe. He decided from this moment on and forward, he would be distant with Nino. Of course the other boy could tell that Adrien wasn’t exactly the talkative or amicable type, so he stopped pressing any further. 

Class had ended and Adrien began to walk out of class, hearing faint whispers around him. They weren’t the kindest words he heard. In fact, people were basically already spreading gossip about him, his name was audible in the voices of the people around him. So much for a great first impression. Adrien sighed as he exited the school, stopping at the top of the stairs. He glanced over at the pig-tailed person from before and noticed that they were waiting out the rain. He felt a pang of anxiety and dread in his heart, it was them, Pig-tails. Pig-tails was the one who wouldn’t bother letting him explain himself, and it seemed that the universe decided to bring the two together. He realized that they didn’t really have an umbrella, and their gorgeous bluebell hair was getting pelted by wet rain drops. Adrien decided to start over and try again. Maybe things would work out in his favour. 

The boy’s heart pounded as he walked up from behind Pig-tails and spoke a bit more softer than he normally did, “Hey…” His voice faltered and he seemed rather nervous. Adrien wasn’t actually used to talking to people.

Pig-tails looked at him and then pressed their lips into a straight line, “...Uh hello,” 

Adrien sighs and gains some courage, “It wasn’t me. I didn’t put the gum on your chair. I was just trying to take it off,”

Pig-tails looked over at him, “You… were?” They sounded rather shocked and taken aback.

“Yeah, it’d be disgusting to put chewed gum on anyone’s chair…” He chuckles, hoping his sense of humour got to them. They chuckled nervously, potentially just because Adrien was intimidating in general. The boy kept a rather blank face and then looked the person in their pretty blue eyes.

“I… I’m uh… Adrien, I go by he/him and I’m male. I… don’t think I ever caught your name or your pronouns,” He cautioned and tried to keep this interaction going, hoping that maybe he could salvage this somehow.

Surprisingly, they were receptive and nodded, “Oh um… I’m Marinette. I go by she/her and I’m female,” Her voice was a bit softer and she seemed to be a bit warmer. Adrien definitely thought that was cute, god, Marinette was kind of cute.

“Oh… I um… uh, it’s kind of pouring a lot. H-Here, take my umbrella,” He bit his lip and passed it over to her, hoping Marinette would take his rare gesture of kindness. The bluenette was hesitant but reached out for the handle of the umbrella. Adrien could feel her warm hand gently brush against his own, and it felt like a tingle of electricity between the two. Marinette looked at him, with big, wide eyes and suddenly Adrien felt his entire world was lit with vibrant colour and light. Even in the pouring rain, he felt like the cloudy sky still had rays of sunshine peeking through. It was as if time stopped, and it was just the two of them. The first person ever to try and see him for him, and not… whatever people viewed him as.

“Um, thank you… Adrien, I appreciate it,” Her voice was still warm but hesitant. It made sense, all of it made sense. Maybe things would be better. Maybe tomorrow was going to be a better day, and Marinette would be there. With all honesty, Adrien was already beginning to envision his entire future with Marinette. But his daydreams stopped when he heard Marinette’s silvery voice ring again. 

“Are you okay..? You’ve been staring at me for quite a bit,” She sounded worried, and of course she was going to sound caring. Oh god, how long has it been since Adrien had someone genuinely be concerned about him? Marinette, whoever she was, was certainly a beautiful soul.

“Oh, um yeah, I’m okay. Whatever. Just, don’t tell anyone about this. It’s… embarrassing,” Adrien snapped out of his meditative thoughts and Marinette gently nodded. The two were in perfect understanding with each other. Adrien turned around, feeling his hoodie get soaked a bit and he backed away. Marinette, that’s a name he’d like to say over and over again. Adrien walked up to the car and opened the door to it. Before he entered it, he turned around and gave one last glance at Marinette. She was still looking at him, with her doe eyes and gentleness. Adrien tried to smile, but he was honestly too exhausted to bother. He just hoped that his acknowledgement of her was good enough. The boy bit his lip and then entered the car, perhaps he would be excited for school the next day.

**Author's Note:**

> N/A


End file.
